Native Apple Watch apps are coming. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple Watch is one the most incredible watch I’ve ever owned, but there’s just one problem — the apps are all soooo slow.
That could change pretty soon, according to Apple VP of Operations Jeff Williams, who says Apple will give developers a preview of native Apple Watch apps at next month’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
Apple updated its official WWDC app this morning, and along with listing hundreds of sessions that will give developers an inside look at the latest iOS and Mac software, the app reveals the conference will kick off with a two-hour keynote June 8.
Google I/O is one of the biggest events on the calendar for Android fans, and this year’s event is going to be just as exciting as the last. In addition to the next-generation Android upgrade, we’ll see updates to other Google platforms, and maybe even new devices.
Here are nine things even Apple fans won’t want to miss during Google I/O 2015, which runs May 28 and 29. (This post was updated May 27.)
Snapchat isn't coming to Apple Watch. Photo: Snapchat
Developers have been eager to capitalize on the Apple Watch hype, with thousands of apps already available, but according to Snapchat’s CEO, it’s going to be a long time until you’re able to check your snaps on Jony Ive’s timepiece.
If you’re looking for a good deal on a movie to watch you may want to check out the freshly-launched Movie of the Day! app on iOS, which offers up to 70 percent discounts off the price of new and classic films.
A joint effort between Fox and Apple, the app offers users a new iTunes movie download each day. According to Apple these movie deals will “range from blockbusters to acclaimed indies,” so there’s a high probability that you’ll find something that you enjoy.
An iPhone 5 user from San Diego almost lost his Apple handset after accidentally dropping it into the sea.
“My brother tried throwing my phone to me,” Gregory Papadin told British newspaper The Mirror. “It ended up going straight under water and sank to bottom of the ocean floor.”
Papadin says the underwater pressure proved too much for him and his brother to swim down and retrieve the phone, but the captain of the ship he was renting was able to dive in and get it — to discover that the phone had not only managed to survive the episode, but actually film its own watery descent.
Yep, Apple's pretty darn valuable. Photo: Cult of Mac
The phenomenal success of the iPhone 6 has catapulted Apple back to the spot of “world’s most valuable brand” in the 2015 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list, after it temporarily lost the title to Google last year.
According to organizers Millward Brown, Apple increased its brand value by a whopping 67 percent to $247 billion in the last year, compared to 2014’s winner Google, which achieved “only” a 9 percent value increase during that same time.
This is the Halo Back. Them other boys don't know how to act. Photo: Halo Back
There is plenty that former Android-users won’t miss if they make the jump to iOS, but one thing they might is the iPhone’s lack of an Android-style “back” button — the result of Steve Jobs’ belief that everything about the iPhone be as uncluttered as possible.
A new Kickstarter project gives you back this feature, however, thanks to a “smart” screen protector which adds just such a button to your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus home screen.
And based on the fact that it’s already been funded more than six times over, we’re assuming it’s something a number of users would really, really like to get their hands on. Literally.
I didn't actually send someone the Unicode of Death. Don't believe anything Rob LeFebvre says. Screen: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac
Some iPhone users are getting a flashback to 2013 as a new version of the so-called “Unicode of Death” has returned to wreak havoc with their iMessages.
The security exploit, which activates when someone sends you the message in the image above, reportedly forces jailbroken handsets into Safe Mode and completely removes other units’ ability to access the Messages app.
Above: The oblivious new owner of two new Apple Watch Editions. Photo: Wang Sicong
The son of China’s richest man has bought not one, but two gold Apple Watch Editions. For his dog.
Wang Sicong’s father, real-estate magnate Wang Jianlin, is worth about $34 billion dollars, and the 27-year-old son officially has too much disposable income.
Shoot super-crisp video at 60 FPS with your iPhone. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Clear, high definition video is all about a frame rate of 60 frames per second (fps).
Luckily, your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus can shoot in this high-speed format that will smooth out your videos as well as make the results of your slo-motion editing a much more watchable experience.
If you want to set your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus up to shoot 60 fps video, here’s how to do it.
Richard Howarth is the new head of Apple's legendary Industrial Design studio. Photo: Facebook
This is Richard Howarth, Apple’s newly appointed vice president of industrial design, and the man who has to fill Jony Ive’s (calf-leather) shoes.
Ive has been promoted to chief design officer to do more “blue sky thinking,” leaving Howarth to run the legendary Industrial Design studio that has been Apple’s ideas factory and product foundry for more than two decades.
Howarth is no stranger to the studio. He’s worked there for 20 years, heading up the design of the iPod, iPhone and a string of MacBooks, among many other products. He’s African-born, London-educated and has been Ive’s second-in-command for some time, earning a reputation among colleagues as a “badass.”
The Apple Watch interface was overseen by Alan Dye. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The man charged with keeping Apple user interfaces looking and working beautifully made his bones by suggesting hand-painted boxes for the original iPhone.
That’s just one shimmery detail from the resume of Alan Dye, Apple’s new vice president of user interface design. Here’s everything else you need to know about the man taking over from Jony Ive when it comes to the day-to-day running of all things UI.
The battle between virtual assistants is about to hot up again as Microsoft Cortana prepares to go cross-platform to take on Siri and Google Now. The intelligent virtual assistant will be arriving on Android and iOS later this year, but you can get a sneak peek in the video below.
The iPhone 6s could be slimmer than ever. Photo: Cult of Mac
Apple could make its upcoming iPhone 6s handsets slimmer and lighter than ever by taking advantage of new smaller LED backlighting chips, according to a new report.
The new chips have the same 3.0 x 0.85mm dimensions as those used in present generation iPhones, but are an impressive 0.2mm thinner than the current 0.6mm components.
What would it take for Apple Watch to lap competing fitness trackers? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
I’ve started cheating on my Apple Watch. It’s not that I don’t love it. It’s amazingly beautiful. It does stuff I didn’t even know I’d like. But when it comes to running wild in the outdoors, I’ve found a smartwatch that satisfies me more than Jony Ive’s wearable does.
For the past week I’ve been testing the Garmin Fenix 3, a top-of-the-line smartwatch from a company that’s made a name for itself by providing runners and outdoorsmen with some of the best wrist-worn fitness tech. I hate wearing the Fenix 3. While Apple Watch gently caresses my wrist, the Fenix 3 feels like I’ve strapped a tank to it. Yet it boasts features Apple Watch doesn’t have that I’m starting to think I can’t live without on runs and hikes.
I don’t plan to completely break up with the Apple Watch anytime soon, but I’m ditching it during my four-day trek through the Grand Canyon this weekend because there are still a couple things it needs to learn before it can truly be the best all-around fitness tracker.
If Apple’s former CEO had been more sentimental, we’d be referring to the company’s upcoming “Spaceship” headquarters as the Steve Jobs campus, according to an interesting tidbit in Stephen Fry’s Telegraph article about Jony Ive’s promotion.
While being given a tour of the rapidly advancing Apple Campus 2 site, Fry suggested it should be named after Jobs, who died in 2011 but was heavily involved with the early stages of planning.
“Oh, Steve made his views on that very clear,” said Tim Cook — hinting that the idea was discussed, but that Jobs wasn’t a massive fan of it.
The first Apple devices to boast A9 chips aren’t even out yet, and already manufacturers are fighting it out to get a piece of the next-next-gen A10 order action — which are likely to make their debut with the iPhone 7 in 2016.
Having come dangerously close to losing out on A9 orders entirely, TSMC is reportedly wasting no time in investing in the right equipment to wow Apple into handing over its order book for the A10 chips.
Alan Dye, Jony Ive, and Richard Howarth. Photo: Gabriela Hasbun/The Telegraph
Jony Ive received a nice gift for the Memorial Day weekend: a promotion to the role of Chief Design Officer at Apple, which will broaden his design duties at Apple while handing day-to-day running of the design team to long-time Apple employees Alan Dye and Richard Howarth.
A 12MP camera would be a major step-up for the iPhone. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Rumors that the iPhone 6s will be getting a vastly improved camera are picking up steam.
According to a new report coming out of China, the next-generation Apple handset will boast a 12MP camera with a special Sony sensor to improve the performance of shooting in low-light conditions.
A moment of triumph for Apple and its customers. Certainly not for BlackBerry, though.
Living in a world where the iPhone dominates, and rivals don’t so much compete by doing things differently as by offering cut-rate versions of the same core technology, it can be easy to forget how much of a disruption Apple’s handset actually caused when Steve Jobs unveiled it in 2007.
A new book chronicling the rise and fall of BlackBerry tells the story from the perspective of the one-time king of (semi-)smartphones. And the reaction was every bit as full of shock, awe, anger and denial as you might expect.
Because iPhone and BlackBerry don’t have to compete for customers, right? Right?